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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

holiday card

Winter Whites with Simon Says Stamp!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! Today, I have a pair of projects using lots of gorgeous holiday dies and the Holly & Pine Embossing Folder from the Simon Says Stamp All the Joy release, showcasing the beauty of the ultimate monochrome: white-on-white! I love a good monochromatic card, and white on white is one of my favorite ways to challenge myself to incorporate as many textures as possible to keep things from being blah. Let’s get started with the details!

“Winter Whites” are definitely having their moment in fashion right now, along with all monochromatic styles, and I tried to channel that into these two projects. I did end up adding some minty green to the tag, but otherwise both projects are white-on-white-on-white!

I began my card by running an A2 panel of Hammermill white cardstock through my die cut machine using the Holly & Pine Embossing Folder. I splattered the background with some super sparkly iridescent white watercolor and set it aside to dry. Next, I pulled out the Airy Pine Needles and Bountiful Berries along with a large assortment of iridescent, glitter, shimmer, and vellum cardstocks and set about die cutting. When working with these limited-color palette projects, I try to add as many textures and finishes as possible, which keeps the white elements from all blending into each other.

After I had die cut and assembled all of my foliage and berries, I worked on the sentiment. Keeping the two dies together, I die cut the beautiful Fancy Happy Holidays die from some white shimmer cardstock, making sure to reserve all of the pieces, including the interiors of the letters. I then die cut the full background piece from some heavweight vellum and adhered the outline to the complete background piece, creating almost a reverse die cut. I popped the greeting up on the embossed card front using foam adhesive, then added a sentiment strip from Typed Christmas Sentiment Cards beneath it. I arranged the winter foliage around the greeting and added a few shimmering gems for more sparkle!

For a quick and cute tag, I die cut the Label Tags dies twice from white cardstock, embossing one using the Holly & Pine Embossing Folder. I sandwiched the tags together so that the scratched sides would be facing each other. This double layer also helps to add some extra stability to the hole at the top!

I die cut the Bountiful Berries dies from white cardstock and added some minty green alcohol marker coloring to the leaves, then arranged the berry cluster and foliage on the embossed side of the tag. For a quick greeting (perfect for a tag!) I added a Typed Christmas Sentiment strip “from me to you.” I popped all of the pieces up with some foam tape and added a few iridescent white gems to add some sparkle. I think this would look so pretty adorning a package or gift bag!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. I encourage you to shop in your paper stash to see what kinds of coated and textured papers you have that will work together to create monochromatic cards. I am always on the lookout for papers with gorgeous finishes! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Pink and Red Holiday Goodness with Honey Bee Stamps plus Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale!

Hi friends! I have some pinky-red holiday projects to share with you today using some gorgeous new products from my friends at Honey Bee Stamps! I am so grateful to Melissa and the ladies at Honey Bee for sending me these marvelous goodies; their new Holiday Wishes release is filled with stunningly beautiful products to fit so many different styles. I recently had the pleasure of visiting with three of the Honey Bees in person at a crafty retreat, and I went absolutely gaga over the two products that I used today, including the spectacular Holiday Blooms stamp set, which was illustrated by my sweet friend Kelly Taylor. Let’s get started with the details!

I kept my color palette for both cards simple, using vivid magenta, cherry red, with pops of jewel green and crisp white. The pop of magenta amongst the red and green adds a touch of modern elegance to the traditional red, green, and white!

My first project features some Distress Ink no-line watercolor using the absolutely gorgeous Holiday Blooms stamp set. My friend Kelly Taylor is a coloring goddess, and now she’s added an illustration feather to her cap. I’m so, so proud of her!! I knew that I wanted to create some vivid watercolored amaryllis flowers, so I pulled out my Distress Ink cubes, paintbrushes, and palette. I love that amaryllis flowers come in so many color varieties, but I wanted something just slightly adjacent the traditional deep red flowers. I first stamped the images using Contour Ink onto some Fabriano Artistco Hot Press watercolor paper. I then watercolored these cool shocking pink flowers by first laying down a layer of Picked Raspberry ink, then adding some layers of Festive Berries and Aged Mahogany for shadows. I added some gold glitter watercolor to the stamens and the little dots in the center of the flowers. After I’d finished watercoloring, I used the coordinating Holiday Blooms Dies to die cut each of the images.

To add some subtle interest behind the detailed watercolored flowers, I ran an A2 panel of Concord and 9th Dragonfruit cardstock through my die cut machine using the older-but-still-stunning Damask Cover Plate die. This die impresses a beautiful letterpress-look into your cardstock, creating gorgeous and unique texture. I blended some Dragonfruit and Cranberry inks, both from Concord and 9th, around the edge of my textured panel to coordinate with the red and pink of the flowers and subtly highlighting the impressed pattern in the background. I trimmed down three thin strips of coordinating ruby red glitter cardstock and adhered them to the background, then arranged my watercolored die cut flowers on the card front, nestling a white embossed greeting from Inside Sentiments: Holidays, die cut with the coordinating die. Finally, I added a few shimmering gems for sparkle!

My second card features the absolutely amazing new Lovely Layers: Front Porch and the coordinating Holiday Add-On die set. The details that Melissa included in these die sets are spectacular. If you are like me and find these little details totally mesmerizing, you’re going to love these dies. The sky is the limit for making these as unique and customized as your imagination can dream up! I wanted to let the Holiday Add-On set be the star, so I die cut all of the layers for the Lovely Layers: Front Porch from Hammermill white cardstock and assembled the card front using liquid and foam adhesive. The embossed details on each piece come through so beautifully even on white cardstock!

Now the extra fun part: assembling all of the little holiday decorations. I chose to use the same cherry red and vivid magenta color palette from the first card, this time working with Dragonfruit, Poppy, and Artichoke cardstock. I die cut the tree and wreath from the olive green Artichoke cardstock, then cut the lights and ornaments from Dragonfruit and Poppy cardstock. I used sparkling ruby red glitter cardstock for the bows, mittens for the snowman, and the ornaments, as well as white shimmer cardstock for the snowman himself. Adding the different textures to the card front helps keep this limited-palette card interesting to the eye! I am absolutely in love with all of the details on this card, and the color palette is so festive while also being a very modern take on a classic holiday color palette.

I wanted to create a shaped card, but when I ran my card base through the die cut machine with the base layer of the Lovely Layers: Front Porch, the cardstock was so thick that the embossed details went all the way through both of the layers of cardstock. So instead of making a full shaped card, I simply trimmed down my A2 card base so that it fit behind the bottom of the front porch. I adhered the completed house front towards the bottom so that the majority of the card base was covered by the house front. I added a greeting from Inside Sentiments: Holidays, but a sentiment from Home for the Holidays would work perfectly for this project!

Now, for some fun Black Friday Sale information!

Honey Bee Stamps is offering 20% off your entire purchase through midnight on Black Friday, November 24, 2023. Not only does Honey Bee Stamps stock amazing Honey Bee-branded products, but they have an incredible collection of embellishments, supplies, tools, and papers from other companies that are included in the sale!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I have a couple more projects to share with you using the new Holiday Wishes release that I will share next week, but I wanted to make sure you all knew about the fabulous Black Friday sale happening today. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy shopping!

Alex Syberia Designs November Collection Blog Hop & Giveaway

Hi there! Today, I am so excited to be hopping along with Alex Syberia to celebrate her newest release for November 2023. You should have arrived here from Emelie, and your next stop is Erica. You can also find the full hop list at the Alex Syberia Designs Blog. This month’s release is filled with beautiful holiday designs, both traditional and a bit non-traditional, and they’re absolutely scrumptious! (You can check it out HERE at Simon Says Stamp, as well!) I have two monochromatic holiday cards today that fit that non-traditional description, but I think they’re so elegant and super festive. Let’s get started with the details!

Both of my projects feature a unique blend of different shades of aqua. I have come to think of aqua as basically a neutral that can work as a supporting actor to lots of different colors, but sometimes aqua is so gorgeous that I want it to shine all on its own. I particularly love Juniper and Tidepool shades from Concord and 9th; they’re two different intensities of the same shade of serene aqua, with more green than blue, and today I’ve paired them with Peacock ink from Concord and 9th to help brighten them up and bring out the undertones of blue.

For my first card, I blended some Peacock ink around the edges of a Juniper cardstock panel, then splattered some shimmering glitter watercolors to add some beautiful texture and shimmer to the background of my card. I then die cut the incredibly beautiful new Snowflake Petals cover plate die (ASD | SSS) from the Alex Syberia Designs November 2023 release using a new addition to my craft room: Holographic Aqua Mirror cardstock from Simon Says Stamp. You can see how incredible the shine is on this cardstock in the photos, but paired with the stunning greens of the card front panel… chef’s kiss!! I adhered the delicate Snowflake Petals cover plate die cut using some liquid adhesive.

For the greeting, I blended Tidepool and Juniper ink on some Tide Pool cardstock using the bow and sentiment stencils in the Holiday Wreath Branch Stencil & Die set (ASD | SSS). I also die cut some glittering aqua foliage using the foliage dies from the new Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD | SSS) and some gorgeous glitter paper from Altenew. My best tip for creating monochromatic cards like this is to be creative with the textures; if you want to keep the viewer’s eye busy and interested in the project, having multiple textures in similar shades of the same color helps prevent your recipient from being bored! I arranged the foliage in a little swag tied together with the stenciled bow, then popped up the greeting with some foam adhesive. I added a few seafoam gems for some more sparkle.

My second card features the Juniper, Tidepool, and Peacock ink again, this time blended to create a monochromatic ombré background. After blending my card front with these inks and blending brushes, I again splattered the vivid background with some more sparkling handmade glitter watercolors. This extra step adds subtle-but-beautiful texture and shine to the background! To coordinate with the background, I die cut the different layers of the Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD|SSS) from coordinating colored cardstock, blending on the edges of the die cut layers with the coordinating shades of ink. This added blending helps to bring out the beautiful embossed details on the die cuts, as well. I die cut some more foliage using the foliage dies from the Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD|SSS) using the same glitter paper from Altenew used on the first card.

After I had die cut my focal point, I die cut the detail layer of the Noel die (ASD | SSS) using some more Holographic Aqua Mirror cardstock and the background bubble layer using some thin vellum. I adhered the two layers together using liquid adhesive, then began arranging my flower and foliage, I placed the poinsettia in the center of the blended background, offsetting it slightly to the left and popping it up with foam adhesive. I adhered the foliage behind the flower, arranging the die cut pieces so that it was almost radiating out from the flower. I popped up the greeting die cut with some more foam adhesive, then added a few more gems in coordinating colors for some more sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. Now for some fun giveaway information!

Alex Syberia Designs is giving away a £85 ($100) gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a £15 ($18) gift card to 5 winners. 
Open internationally. All 6 winners will be drawn from the entrants that have played along with this Blog hop by midnight BST November 26th, 2023. Winners will be announced on the Alex Syberia Designs blog ‘Giveaway Winners’ page on November 27th, 2023.

Your next stop on the hop is Erica. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Video: Unexpected Holiday Anemones with Pinkfresh Studio!

Hi friends! I am over on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube channel today with this vibrant holiday card featuring the gorgeous new Nothing But the Best stamps + dies and Karin Brushmarker Pro watercolor markers.

Watch the video below or HERE on YouTube.

In case you can’t watch the video, here are some of the highlights:

I started by heat embossing the Nothing But the Best stamp onto some Fabriano Artistico cold press watercolor paper using silver embossing powder. I taped the panel down to my watercolor board, then used Karin Brushmarker Pro markers in jewel-toned shades of red and green to create a stunning holiday floral arrangement. A friend of mine had deep red anemones with black centers for her bridal bouquet, and since then I’ve adored the idea of these intense flowers as an addition to a holiday bouquet! After watercoloring, I die cut the image with the coordinating die.

To add some texture behind the watercolored floral arrangement, I ran an A2 panel of plain white cardstock through my die cut machine using the Diagonal Stitched Plaid cover plate. This die adds a hint of texture and pattern to the background, and I think that plaid is the quintessential holiday pattern, don’t you? I also die cut a vellum tag from the Shaker Tag Book die and a black glitter bow from the Wrap Around Elements die set to accent the hot foiled “peace and joy” sentiment (from what I now realize is a discontinued set- but a heat embossed greeting from the Holiday Large Sentiments Stamps + Coordinating Dies product suite would be a good replacement!)

After fiddling with my die cuts to decide the best arrangement, I decided to be brave and chop my watercolored flower bouquet in half so that I could create a visual cascade running down the front of my card. Before adhering the two floral die cut pieces, I adhered a glittering Ornate Rectangle Frame die cut with some foam adhesive, then added my remaining die cuts with some more foam adhesive, hiding the foam tape behind the solid die cut adhered to the vellum tag. The final touch was a few Matte Silver Pearls to add one more element of silver to my card front!

Well, that’s all for my project today. I love using unexpected combinations to create unique holiday cards. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Holiday Lilies with Simon Says Stamp!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am back today with another project featuring the lily stamp from my new Festive Bouquets illustrations. When researching flowers for my drawing, I always look at different floral arrangements for weddings and holidays, and I was struck by how frequently large lilies are used in holiday bouquets. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a holiday lily stamp before, so I created a large arrangement to use on your holiday cards and was super fun to color!! Let’s get started with the details on my project.

I began by stamping the lily image from the Festive Bouquets stamp set onto some Hammermill white cardstock using Intense Black ink. I then used OLO markers to create vivid red, almost a bright coral, lilies and lime green foliage. This image would be beautiful in no-line style, as well, but I think that the crisp black lines with the vivid red flowers are such a classic pairing that I couldn’t resist using it for this project. I die cut the image with the coordinating die.

To add some subtle, but still festive, texture behind my floral bouquet, I ran an A2 panel of Hammermill white cardstock through my die cut machine using the new Twining Berries embossing folder. This embossing folder has such classic holiday botanical imagery and added such lovely texture behind my floral bouquet. The only enhancement that I made was to add some shimmering gold watercolor splatters to the embossed panel, though this panel would also be gorgeous colored with your choice of medium!! I added my floral bouquet to the bottom corner of my card front and trimmed off the excess from the edges. To coordinate with the gold splatters on the background, I also added some shimmering gold to the centers of the lilies.

For the sentiment, I heat embossed a greeting from the Graceful Holiday Greetings set onto some black cardstock using gold sparkle embossing powder. I die cut the greeting with the coordinating die, then added a sentiment strip from the CZ Design Typed Christmas Sentiment Strips cards. These cards are printed with toner, so they can be foiled using a Minc or a laminator. Such fun to add that little extra bit of shine! I popped up the greeting pieces on the embossed card front using foam adhesive, then added a few iridescent red gems for extra sparkle.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Simple, elegant, and lots of shimmer and shine to make it extra festive. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!